Axially and spherically symmetric solitons in warm plasma

We study the existence of stable axially and spherically symmetric plasma structures on the basis of the new nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) accounting for nonlocal electron nonlinearities. The numerical solutions of NLSE having the form of spatial solitions are obtained and their stability is analyzed. We discuss the possible application of the obtained results to the theoretical description of natural plasmoids in the atmosphere.Comment: 10 pages, two columns, 5 eps figures, RevTeX 4.1; several new references are added and some typos are corrected; a variant to be published in Journal of Plasma Physic

The Effects of Choice on Assignment Completion and Percent Correct by a High School Student with a Learning Disability

The effects of choosing between two academic assignments on task completion and percent correct by a ninth grade student with a learning disability was investigated. This case study extended the efficacy of antecedent based intervention as an instructional modification. Further, the study extends previous research by investigating the effect of choice on academic achievement. The withdrawal design showed that percent completed and correct were highest when the participant was given a choice between two assignments when compared to baseline conditions. Results are discussed in term of efficacy of choice as an antecedent intervention, choice selection, and future research directions

Effective attraction between oscillating electrons in a plasmoid via acoustic waves exchange

We consider the effective interaction between electrons due to the exchange of virtual acoustic waves in a low temperature plasma. Electrons are supposed to participate in rapid radial oscillations forming a spherically symmetric plasma structure. We show that under certain conditions this effective interaction can result in the attraction between oscillating electrons and can be important for the dynamics of a plasmoid. Some possible applications of the obtained results to the theory of natural long-lived plasma structures are also discussed.Comment: 14 pages in LaTeX2e, two columns, 3 eps figures; minimal changes, some typos are corrected; version published on-line in Proc. R. Soc.

Formation of bound states of electrons in spherically symmetric oscillations of plasma

We study spherically symmetric oscillations of electrons in plasma in the frame of classical electrodynamics. Firstly, we analyze the electromagnetic potentials for the system of radially oscillating charged particles. Secondly, we consider both free and forced spherically symmetric oscillations of electrons. Finally, we discuss the interaction between radially oscillating electrons through the exchange of ion acoustic waves. It is obtained that the effective potential of this interaction can be attractive and can transcend the Debye-Huckel potential. We suggest that oscillating electrons can form bound states at the initial stages of the spherical plasma structure evolution. The possible applications of the obtained results for the theory of natural plasmoids are examined.Comment: 9 pages in LaTeX2e, no figures; paper was significantly modified, 2 new references added, some inessential mathematics was removed, many typos were corrected; final variant to be published in Physica Script

How QOF is shaping primary care review consultations: a longitudinal qualitative study

Background: Long-term conditions (LTCs) are increasingly important determinants of quality of life and healthcare costs in populations worldwide. The Chronic Care Model and the NHS and Social Care Long Term Conditions Model highlight the use of consultations where patients are invited to attend a consultation with a primary care clinician (practice nurse or GP) to complete a review of the management of the LTC. We report a qualitative study in which we focus on the ways in which QOF (Quality and Outcomes Framework) shapes routine review consultations, and highlight the tensions exposed between patient-centred consulting and QOF-informed LTC management. Methods: A longitudinal qualitative study. We audio-recorded consultations of primary care practitioners with patients with LTCs. We then interviewed both patients and practitioners using tape-assisted recall. Patient participants were followed for three months during which the research team made weekly contact and invited them to complete weekly logs about their health service use. A second interview at three months was conducted with patients. Analysis of the data sets used an integrative framework approach. Results: Practitioners view consultations as a means of ‘surveillance’ of patients. Patients present themselves, often passively, to the practitioner for scrutiny, but leave the consultation with unmet biomedical, informational and emotional needs. Patients perceived review consultations as insignificant and irrelevant to the daily management of their LTC and future healthcare needs. Two deviant cases, where the requirements of the ‘review’ were subsumed to meet the patient’s needs, focused on cancer and bereavement. Conclusions: Routine review consultations in primary care focus on the biomedical agenda set by QOF where the practitioner is the expert, and the patient agenda unheard. Review consultations shape patients’ expectations of future care and socialize patients into becoming passive subjects of ‘surveillance’. Patient needs outside the narrow protocol of the review are made invisible by the process of review except in extreme cases such as anticipating death and bereavement. We suggest how these constraints might be overcome

Plasma concentrations of Gas6 and sAxl correlate with disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus

Objectives. SLE is a systemic autoimmune disease with an annual incidence of 3.8 per 100 000. Several pathogenic mechanisms are believed to be operating in SLE, including an impaired clearance of apoptotic cells, activation of the type I IFN pathway and generation of autoimmune leucocytes. Growth arrest-specific protein 6 (Gas6) and its receptor Axl are known to regulate inflammation and may be implicated in lupus pathogenesis. We have recently developed immunological methods to quantify the vitamin-K-dependent protein Gas6 and its soluble receptor sAxl in human plasma, which we have used to investigate the role of Gas6 and soluble Axl in SLE

Containing intense laser light in circular cavity with magnetic trap door

It is shown by particle-in-cell simulation that intense circularly polarized (CP) laser light can be contained in the cavity of a solid-density circular Al-plasma shell for hundreds of light-wave periods before it is dissipated by laser-plasma interaction. A right-hand CP laser pulse can propagate with almost no reflection and attenuation into the cavity through a highly magnetized overdense H-plasma slab filling the entrance hole. The entrapped laser light is then multiply reflected at the inner surfaces of the slab and shell plasmas, slowly losing energy to the latter. Compared to that of the incident laser, the frequency is only slightly broadened and the wave vector slightly modified by the appearance of weak nearly isotropic and homogeneous fluctuations